The Elf on the Shelf

I got this for Owen today after hearing about it from a friend. It comes with a book that tells you that you've adopted the elf into your family and that he will live at your house for the month of December. Every night while you sleep, he flies back to see Santa to tell him if you've been good or bad that day. And each morning when Owen wakes up he has to go look around the house to see where his elf landed for that day. Owen of course loves it BUT after putting him up in the kitchen this evening, I walked by and decided that while cute, he's creepy. Maybe it's my long standing fear of clowns but I actually felt like the thing was watching me!!!!! Owen also got to name the elf and it started out as Namey (sound familiar???) but ended up Rainbow. So Rainbow the Christmas Elf will be watching us for the next few weeks.

Stick a fork in me, I'm done!!!!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year!! It is SO nice to be up here in the Woodlands so that we don't end up on the road for most of it. We actually got to spend time with family and not have to deal with a cranky Owen. I think a lot of it is that he's older but it also helps that he gets to spend some time at home.

The week started with tons of cousin time. We went to the zoo, ice skating, hung out at Mimi and Popi's and the kids got to have a few sleepovers. Owen loves spending time with Cam and Kayla and its amazing how much time they can spend together and really not fight. Owen's always been the type to like his routine and want to spend time with Bryan and I at home. This year he asked to spend the night away which is a BEAUTIFUL thing :) We also got to spend some quality time with Dave and Mel at the Goose's Acre in the Woodlands. Lots of food, drinks, and discussion of our crazy fam.

Leigh and Adam were only able to come in Wednesday night and had to head back Thursday evening. They spent the night and it was nice to get to spend some time with them. For Thanksgiving dinner we went to Uncle Dick and Aunt Sue's house in Conroe. It's always loud and crazy over there but Owen loved having more cousin time and getting to hang out with Estelle (she's my cousins daughter, whatever that makes her to Owen I have no idea). Dick tried to take some Christmas pictures for us which was ended by Owen stepping into the pond. He ended up in his skivvies for a while which for anyone who knows Owen knows, that's just how he likes it to be :)



On Friday we headed back to the Pear to watch the Aggies beat the hell out of Texas. It was an awesome game and Owen loved getting to hang out with his girlfriends Lauren and Hope.



Then finally today we had the Hulshofs over for Thanksgiving dinner. Colleen and Wayne brought Owen over a giant snake which Grandpa seemed to REALLY like. It was a nice low key day and Owen loves being the center of attention because he's the only grandkid :)

Tomorrow we are doing NOTHING!!!! The weather's supposed to be nasty so we'll try to talk Bryan into getting all the Christmas stuff out. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is staying dry and warm!

Does anyone else have a birthday?????

It is completely birthday season for the Hulshofs and for all the complaining I (really Bryan)does about having to go again, it's always fun. We went to James' party Saturday morning and Owen had a great time in the bouncers. He and Caroline are buddies from playing when I take him to work with me at James' house. Then Saturday afternoon we went to Cooper's party and if Owen had his way we would have never left. We got to see friends from Pearland which is always fun.

Couple of random Owen thoughts. I talked earlier about him not wanting to sing. Well this weekend we went to a karate open house where Owen got to participate in a class. He sits quietly and watches but didn't do any of the things that they demonstrated. We asked him afterwards why he didn't try and he said that he just likes to watch. Then at Cooper's party the clown would ask the kids to participate and Owen didn't do any of it either. Now given that my job is to get my clients to participate, it drives me NUTS that he doesn't do it. I know it's my issue and not his but I wish he would do something :)

Lita

Since Lita is a loyal reader, Owen and I made a video just for her. She always tells him that he's her favorite grandchild and he hasn't quite figured out that he's her ONLY grandchild :) She comes to watch Owen a lot when I need to work later or on a day that he's not in school and he loves her for her ability to hang out for hours on end just being at home. Something he loves to do but his Mommy is not as good at!!

Vegas baby

We went to Vegas at the beginning of November with the Morrisons, Ogburns, Hopkins, and Holts. It was just a long weekend but almost too long based on our consumption of adult beverages. We didn't win much but didn't lose too badly which I think makes for a successful trip to Las Vegas. Owen stayed with Mimi and Popi and they drove down to Corpus to visit Leigh and Adam. He had a great time hanging out at the beach, harrassing their dog beans, and making Popi get in the ice cold water :)

Flemings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Flemings are good friends of ours from Pearland and decided to come spend the night and hang out in the Woodlands for the day. We used to see them just about everyday before we moved and the kids went to the babysitter together on the days that we worked. Owen and Emma were SO sad when we moved because they really were like best friends. The Flemings are moving to Dallas soon and we'll hate that they're too far away to come up for the day but will do everything we can to get up there and visit them!!

4th Birthday Party

We had Owen's annual Halloween birthday party a few weeks early this year. It seems like we're the only ones who still do it at home but it's an easy party because all you need is costumes and some Halloween decorations. We had a lot of friends drive up from Pearland and a few kids from Owen's class. Somehow my camera wasn't working well and so the pictures aren't great.

Cousins

Owen loves, loves, loves (did I say loves) his cousins Cameron and Kayla. Maybe it's the only child thing or just that he likes having someone to hang out with at family gatherings but he thinks they are the coolest. He'll randomly tell me "Mommy, I miss my cousins". And Cam and Kayla have always been into Owen. Even as an infant they always wanted to get him to play even if his version of playing was looking at the 47 toys they stuck in his face. They are coming to visit the week of the Thanksgiving and Owen can't wait to have some cousin sleepovers. And they're pretty great about giving him all of their toys that they've outgrown.

This is dedicated to the best non-related aunt in the world

Owen LOVES getting packages in the mail and we can always count on Jenn for something fun around his birthday. Last year it was a giant inflatable Frankenstein and this year it was a whole lot of Spiderman. The favorite was the skates though some how it's more work for me than him as I drag him down the street and try to keep him from splitting his head open.

And since Jenn may be the only person who ever reads this blog, we thought you needed a special mention :)

And this is what happened when we tried out the skates....

Halloween parade

Owen had a Halloween parade at school that basically consisted of walking around the room and then singing a song. Of course all of the parents, myself included, were all ready with the cameras to capture their performance. Owen hates music and has since he was a baby. He used to cry when I sang to him so I guess he's either hated it since birth or I ruined any chance for a love of music from infancy. Of course he refused to sing the song but he did do the movements so it wasn't a total loss.

Owen at 4

Owen turned 4 last week so in honor of the occasion, I decided to write down what he's all about at 4. (These were done with his input)

Favorite food: macaroni and cheese
Favortie TV show: Scooby Doo
Favorite toy: Aquadots
Favorite friends: Emma, Lauren, Brett, Jake, Hope
Favorite color: purple
Favorite thing to do at home: play Wii
Favorite thing to do outside: ride my bike
Favorite song: The Scooby Doo Song
Favorite movie: Popular Mechanics for Kids
Favorite drink: apple juice
Craziest person you know: Daddy and Me
Favorite place to go: the movies
Favorite restaurant: Buffalo Wild Wings
Favorite animal: snugglebear
I like Mom because "I love you. She makes good dinners."
I like Dad because "he does crazy things. Because we dilly dally."

Our Weekend

We had a low key weekend in our continued recovery from our trip to Vegas. On Saturday we went to Brett's birthday party at a bouncer place. Loads of fun for kids, not so fun for Bryan and I when we were forced to do the obstacle course and giant slide. It was almost all of Owen's class from school and it was fun to meet some of the parents and kids. Owen really likes Brett though it doesn't seem to be AS enthusiastic the other way around :)

On Sunday we went to the Children's Festival. Owen had a ton of fun but was exhausted by the end of it. I think he's still getting over being sick but hopefully will be back at school on Tuesday!!

Greg the fighter pilot

For anyone who has known Greg for a while, to see him flying a multi-million dollar jet over the Aggie game brings a smile. Who would have thought?? He's the plane on the right.

My favorite Owen video

Owen

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Why you should never drink and Ebay

We were at Joel and Lisa's a few weeks ago watching the A&M game and everyone was having some drinks. Bryan drove back to the Woodlands and the rest of us went to bed. Earlier in the night, the guys were on the computer trying to sell some of our tickets on Ebay and Bryan never logged out of our account. Long story short, Joel got on and started drunk bidding. Above is what he ended up paying WAY too much money for.

The big move

At the end of May, Bryan got this crazy idea about taking a job in the Woodlands. The big problem was that it was an hour commute. So here we are a few months later, all moved in but definitely not unpacked. I LOVE our new house. It's a split level with all of our living areas and master on the 2nd floor and the other bedrooms and playroom downstairs. There's a screened in porch off of the living room upstairs that's great for Owen to go play on when it's raining or the mosquitos are out. The one thing we need to do is meet some new friends. I miss everyone in Pearland even though it seems that we see them just as much now as we used to which is nearly every weekend. Now if I can only find some people up here that are as cool as all my girls in the Pear :)

PS That's not my furniture in the pictures. It's the stuff that was here when we were looking

Spiderman

Owen was Spiderman for Halloween and for his birthday party. Seems it was a popular costume as every third kid looked exactly the same. We went to a ton of fall festivals and he had a Halloween party at school. We went trick or treating in the neighborhood and Owen got a ton o' candy!!

Bryan's 35th birthday

Owen and I decided to have a surprise birthday party for Bryan this year. This included a cake, some presents, sushi, and us. Not too exciting but at least he didn't expect it since we did it a week early. I LOVE birthdays and holidays and I think it's starting to rub off on Owen. It is early November and every commercial he sees on TV is something he wants for Christmas. He went through the Toys R Us catalog the other day and circled just about everything in it.

Pre-school

Owen started preschool this year at a place called Interfaith. He's going for a school day two days a week while I work and he loves going. Once again, his best friends are the girls but he also likes to hang out with his friend Brett. The other day they sent home a list of what all the kids said when they asked what their parents do. Owen said I, "work with kids like James who can't talk." He's been great about going to work with me. I use him as a peer for my clients to request from and I've only had to threaten him a few times not to make me look like the behavior analyst whose own kid is bad :)

Sick Owen and a possessed cat

Owen's got a respiratory infection and has been laying around most of the day. He actually told me that he needed to go to sleep which NEVER happens. This might be the only time in his life that the cat likes him because he's not up to running around and trying to turn them into a "furberry". Hopefully he'll be better tomorrow because I don't know if I can take another day cooped up in the house all day. And because I feel bad that he's sick....

Let's see how long this lasts!!

I feel bad that I don't have a journal, scrapbook, or keep up with a baby book and that Owen will end up with no recollection of his childhood. So due to the inoordinate amount of time I spend on the computer, I decided I would try a blog. Hopefully this won't be the last post!